Vehicle direction signal



Dec. 27, 1932s. c, 0. FULL 2,141,437

' VEHICLE DIRECTION SIGNAL Filed Feb'. 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec.27, 1938. c; o. HILL. 2,141,437

VEHICLE DIRECTION SIGNAL Filed Feb. 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 27, 1938 t UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE VEHICLE DIRECTIONSIGNAL Charles Hill, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application February 25, 1936, Serial No. 65,573

"7 Claims. (oi. 11 6-39) This invention relates to and has for an objectFig. '7 is a sectional elevation of the same on the provision of adirection signal of the general line l---'! of Fig. 6; type andcharacter of that disclosed in my pend- Fig. 8 is a transverse sectionof the same on ing application for patent, filed December 8, .1934, line8-8 of Fig. 6; I Serial No. 756,572, now Patent Number 2,110,420, Fig.9is a fragmentary section of the same on 5 I but including certain noveland valuable imline 99 of Fig. 5;

provements which increase the utility and desir- F g. 0 is anendelevation of the control it, ability of a direction signal applicableto modern Wlth a p t on omitted so as to indicate th autom0bi1es V eralpositions of an operating member thereon, 10 In the consideration of mypresent invention a s On line ill-49 of it will be understood that mysignal means in--' g. 11 is a longitudinal section of the opercludes avacuum operated semaphore extensible atlng means on e l|ll of fr the topf a Vehicle into three separate Fig. 12 is a longitudinal sectionthereof on line sitions, i. e. horizontal, upwardly inclined and -i2 ofFig. 11; l5 downwardly inclined positions, for indicating, re- 13 1S asectional elevation of th same on 15 spectively, left and right turnsand stopping of 11119. 0f g- 2; I v

the vehicle. An object of this invention is to prog- ,4 1s a gmentaryview of the semaphore vide automatically operable means for restoring iC0r111e0ti0ns; and the semaphore to normally concealed position at e ton of 8 0 t e p ore the completion of any of said operations. 7egulatlrlg nde s l e l5l5 of 20 A further object is to provide improvedmeans complete al g unit such as is shown in for effecting theinclination of the semaphore 2 is assembled and mounted at the sidebeeither upwardly or downwardly as may be 1 tween the tront and the rearand within the top sired, and for mounting said semaphore so that l of aVehlcle as d cated in Fig. 1, and init will operate with a minimum ofeffort and friccludefs p ore S extensible through an 25 tion opemng 2 inthe vehicle top i and operatively Another object is to provide animproved form supmrted on a rigid base 3 suitably fi d n a of controlmeans for regulating the application posltlon immediately s de of thetop I. An of air and vacuum to the semaphore and other filongatedcylinder C s a s fixed in P n Withelements. Still other objects mayappear as the m h top a rearwardly 0f the base 3 and is 30 descriptionprogresses.' Y Connected with said base as by means of guide I haveshown a vehicle direction signal em- 4, and QIIMWhiCh a cross head 5 islongibedymg my Said improvements in the aceom tudmally slidable,together with semaphore S to panying drawings, subject to modification,with: and from Signalling Position.

in the scope of the appended claims, without The Semaphor? S ispreferably of rectangular 35 departing from the spirit of my invention.hollow crosssection and may have arrow shaped In Said drawings:apertures 6 in the opposite sides thereof adapted Fig. 1 is a reducedscale view, in rear elevato be covered with a transparent ans ucentmaterial so that light from the inter tion, of a vehicle bod e m ed withmy 1m- 101', as up 40 proved Signal; y q pp plied by a suitable bulb, orbulbs I, will be trans- 40 .Fig.. 2 is a side elevation of the signalunit mltted through Said apertures so that the Signal 7 is visible fromeither front apart from a vehicle and partly in section, with apartition separating 2 g ig% gzi 32;;

the semaphore horizontally extended as for inbe f respectively differentcolors Th meeting a contemplated 1eft a turn; of the semaphore isprovided with a g tz g Figs. 3 and 4, are, respectlvely frag y curvedand formed so as to seat in or over the views of the signal means Withthe Se p opening 2 in the top I, and the inner end of the extended intoupwa d y a downwardly inclined semaphore is hinged at 9 to the oppositesides positions, for indicating contemplated right hand :9 m of anintermediate member H which. turns and stopping of the vehicle; Ieratively connects the semaphore with the cross- 50 Fig. 5 is a frontend view of a control unit head 5. I manually operable for regulatingthe application It will be noted that semaphore S has fiat of air andvacuum to the signal means; Spri gs l 2 d l2overlyin th e ges of thesides Fig. 6 is a plan of the control unit, partly i l0, IU, of memberII and attached to the inner section; a I end of thesemaphore as bymeans of screws I3,

through opening 2. Said springs, as shown in Fig. 14, are extensiblethrough an opening in an inclined portion M of .base 3 and flex inopposite directions as the semaphore is inclined upwardly.

and downwardly, the member M in such case serving to hold the springsengaged with the upper and lower edges of sides ID of member Also, saidsprings are tensioned against the sides In by means of one or moretension springs I5, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

Lamps 1 may be grounded to the frame of the semaphore as at l6 andconnected by means of a wire I! with a terminal l8 on the inner portionof member I which terminal is adapted for contact with a fixed contact 9held on the inner side V Said crosshead also carries a semi-circularplate V in the bottom of each of the cylinders 33 and 34.

2| which has a stem 22 hingedly held in the cross head and retained asby means of a screw 23. (See Figs. 11 and 12.) Plate 2| is rearwardlyspaced from the inner end of semaphore S and is connected in paralleltherewith by means of a pair of links 24 and 24', the outer ends of saidlinks being hinged at 25, and 25', respectively, to

the semaphore while the'inner ends of the links are bent outwardly andhinged at 26 and 26 to points on the plate which are outwardly-of themember II.

As in the previous form of device disclosed in my said pendingapplication the swinging of the semaphore is influenced and cheated bymeans of vacuum operated plungers 2'! and 21 which are adapted to beselectively retracted from extended positions out of the path of theouter edge of the hinged plate 2|. 7 semaphore is inclined in one or theother directions as theedge of the plate in its outward movement engagesone of the pins 21 or 21 and is tilted. The tilting of the plateobviously efiects semaphore 28 to a point of connection withcrosshead'5, so as to extend and retract the semaphore S, crosshead 5and piston 3| as vacuum is applied to opposite ends of said cylinder.

Member 3 carries a pair of vacuum cylinders 33 and 34 which are arrangedon opposite sides of the axis of the signal unit and are supported onthe top of said member 3. Said cylinders are connected by means oftubes. 35 and 36,'respectively, with control valve A and have plungers3'! and 38 slidable therein and from which the plungers 21 and 21',respectively, extend from the bottoms of the cylindersto positionadjacent the plane of the plate 2|. An air vent 39 is provided The valveA includes a cylindrical body 40 and an inner cylinder 4| which isclosed at its ends and is revoluble within said body, as shown in Fig.

' '7. One end of said valve has a trunnion 42 which is rotatable in theend 43 of the body 40 and the otherend of the valve has an inlet tube 44which 'tentions in the proposed movement of Thus, as shown in Fig. 14,the' is held in a head 45 at an end of the body and is journalled in theend 4| of the inner cylinder 4| and serves. to connect the innercylinder 4| with a source of vacuum, as a pump, (not shown).

The connections between the cylinder 4| and the cylinders C, 33 and 34are such that air and vacuum may be applied to the pistons in saidcylinders for initially extending the semaphore to the position shown inFig. 2, and thereafter to the positions shown in Fig.3 or 4, 'as may beselected by an operator in accordance with his inthe vehicle V.

There is provided on the control unit A means for automaticallyrestoring the cylinder 4| to neutral position and the semaphore toretracted position at the end of each signalling operation. Said meansincludes a sub-cylinder 46 formed on or attached to the valve body 40and having one end closed by a head 41 and having a vacuum connection48in the form of a bleeder connected as with the tube 29 leading from theouter end of. cylinder C; A piston 49 is slidable in cylinder 46 and istensioned by means of a spring 50 which tends to overcome the vacuumpull on the piston .which compresses between the end of cylinder 46 andportion 52 of pin 53 and tendsto urge said pin outwardly so that its endwill engage the inner face of member 54 and one of several notches 51(see Fig. 9 which are formed on theinner face of member 54, forholdingthe operatingmember 54 stationary for a predetermined length oftime and the maintenance of a given signal for a corresponding length oftime, after which the operating' member is released and the signal isautomatically restored to normally retracted position, all ashereinafter described. V

Member 54 has a knob 58, or inlieu'thereof, wings such as are shown inFigs; 5 and '7 by means of which itmay be rotated to different positionson valve body end 43 for establishing and maintaining proper connectionsfor giving selected signals. Said member 54 is rotated against thetension of a spring 59 which has its upper end looped around trunnion 42and its lower end slidably held between a pair of lugs 60, 60, on themember 54. Lugs' 66', 69' on the end 43 retain the inner end of spring59 against rotation. Thus as said operating member is turned in eitherdirection the spring. 59 is flexed, as indicated by.

broken'lines in Fig. 10 and tends to restore the operating member toneutral position after a given interval of time.

Upon the operation of the control valve for effecting any desiredsignal, vacuum is applied from tube 29 through tube 48 to cylinder 46and as it requires a certain interval of time 'forevacuating thecylinder 46 of air and the creation of sufiicient vacuum therein toretractpiston 49, the piston Willnot. retract sufiiciently to retractits stem 5| so as to engage the head 5| thereon with portion 52 of pin53 so as to retract said pin from engagement with one of the notches 51in member 54, thereby releasing said pin so asto permit member toneutral position.

Valve body 40 has 'an' air intake 66 which is adapted for "selectiveregistration with internal I effecting desired signals. It will beobvious that for either aright or left hand turning signal or a stopsignal it is necessary'to move piston 3| in cylinder and semaphore S'outwardly to signalling position. Hence in every case vacuum is appliedthrough valve A and tube 29 to the outer end of cylinder C so as to movepiston 3| and semaphore S to the position shown in Fig. 2. In suchposition, which is the left turnsignal, the outer edge of plate 2|engages both of the plungers 21 and 21 and stops the outward movement ofthe signal. If a stop or right turn signal is to be given the continuedapplication of vacuum to piston 3l and the application of vacuum toeither of the plungers 21 or 21', as the case may be, retracts one ofsaid plungers and causes plate 2| to swing on its axis 22, as shown inFig. '14 byreason 'of its engagement with the other of said-plungers,and the semaphore S is correspondingly swung upwardly or downwardly byreason of its connections 24 and 24 with said plate.

Thus vacuum is applied to a cylinder 33 or 34 by so rotating valve A asto connect the interior of said valve with the required cylinder. Asshown in Fig. 7 the connections are such as to restore the piston 3| tonormally retracted position in cylinder C through tube 36. A pluralityof ports are provided in the wall of the member 4| of valve A forselective registration with tubes 35, 29, 36 and 36, respectively, whichare instrumental for selectively applying vacuum to cylinders C, 46, 33or 34. Thus either of the ports 66 or 61 will register with tube 35 forapplying vacuum to cylinder 33; any one of ports 68, 69, i0 and 1| willregister with tube 29 for applying vacuum to the outer end of cylindersC and 46; port 12 will register with tube for applying vacuum to theinner end of cylinder C and port 13 will register with tube 36 forapplying vacuum to cylinder 34.

For convenience in operation the flange 55 of valve A has diametricallyopposite right and left turn legends and'positions thereon, a singleneutral legend and position, and dual stop legends and positions oneither side intermediate the right and left turn positions, asillustrated in Fig. 10. For this reason the bridging tubes 62 and 65 inmember 4| are diametrically opposite and correspond to the right andleft hand turning positions, the tubes 63 and 64 are spaced tocorrespond to the two stop positions and the tube 6| is neutrallypositioned. Thus, to effect a right hand or stop signal the operatingmember may be moved in one direction and to effect a left hand or stopsignal the said member is moved in an opposite direction.

It is quite apparent that as vacuum is applied to either end of thecylinder C air must be admitted to the other end thereof so as to permitthe free movement of piston 3| and semaphore S. Thus, for any of thefive signalling positions air must be admitted through inlet 60 and oneof the tubes 6|,62, 63, and Hand either tube 29 or 30 to cylinder Cwhile for two positions vacuum is simultaneously applied to one of thecylinders 33 or 34 through either tube 35 or 36. Whenever 1 vacuum isapplied to the outer end ofcylinder C it is'simultaneously applied tocylinder 46, as

hereinbefore described.

A tension spring 14 is attached at its outer end to the pin 25 and atits inner end to a transverse portion 15 of link 24' as shown in Figs.11

.and operationof my signalling means it will be observed that I haveprovided in addition to means for manually operating the device fordisplaying three different signals an automatically operable means forrestoring the signalling means to neutral position at the completion ofeach operation. -The said restoration means is vacuum operated andserves to effect the release of the locking pin 53 from the operatingmember 54 so that said operating member may be returned to normalposition in either direction by means of the tension of its spring 59.

What I claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A direction signal for vehicles comprising: a cylinder, a pistontherein, a semaphore operatively connected with said piston for pivotalmovement relative thereto and for bodily movement therewith, a rotatablecontrol valve connected With a source of vacuum and with oppositeportions of said cylinder for applying vacuum to opposite sides of saidpiston so as to alternately slidably extend and retract said semaphore,an operating member for said valve, means controlled by said operatingmember for inclining said semaphore to different signalling positionsfrom said slidably extending position, and means associated with saidoperating member for automatically releasing said operating member afteran interval of time so as to permit the restoration of all of said meansto normal positions.

2. A direction signal for vehicles comprising: a cylinder, a pistontherein, a semaphore operatively connected with said piston for pivotalmovement relative thereto and for bodily movement therewith, a rotatablecontrol valve connected with a source of vacuum and with oppositeportions of said cylinder for applying vacuum to opposite sides of saidpiston so as to alternately slidably extend and retract said semaphore,an operating member for said valve, means controlled by said operatingmember for inclining said semaphore to different signalling positionsfrom its slidably extended position, means associated with saidoperating member for automatically releasing said operating member afteran interval of time so as to permit the restoration of all of said meansto normal positions, said last mentioned means including a lockingmember engageable with said operating member, and vacuum operated meansconnected with said locking member for disengaging the locking member"from the operating member.

3. A- direction signal for vehicles comprising: a cylinder, a pistontherein, manually controlled vacuum operated means for reciprocatingsaid piston, a semaphore arranged for movement to and from a pluralityof signalling positions, a

*crosshead slidable with said piston a member 1 .pivotally held on saidcrosshead and havingparber and of said semaphore in, accordance withdesired signallingintentions.

4. A direction signal for vehicles comprisingr a cylinder, a pistontherein, manually controlled vacuum operated means for reciprocatingsaid piston, a semaphore arranged for movementto and from va pluralityof signalling positions, a crosshead slidable with said piston, a memberpivotally held on said crosshead and havingparallel connections withsaid semaphore at points outwardly of its axis, said semaphore beinghing edly supported on said cross-head, vacuum/operated means engageablewith said pivoted member for regulating the tilting of said member andof said semaphore in accordance with desired signalling intentions, andmeans for restoring said semaphore and said member to'normal position atthe completion of a signalling operation.

5. A direction'signal for vehicles comprising: a cylinder, a pistontherein, manually controlled vacuum operated means for reciprocatingsaid piston, a semaphore arranged for movement'to and from a pluralityof signalling positions, a crosshead slidable with said piston, a memberpivotally. held on said crosshead and having parallel connections withsaid semaphore at points outwardly of its axis, said semaphore beinghingedly supported on said crosshead, vacuum operated means engageablewith said pivoted member for regulating the, tilting of said member andof said semaphore in accordance with desired signalling intentions,a'slidable support for said semaphore, and flexible tensioned platessecured to and exarranged for bodily movement by said operating member,a cross head slidable with said operating member, a member pivoted onsaid cross head and having parallel connections with said semaphore atpoints outwardly of its axis, means for pivotally supporting thesemaphore on said cross head, and means engageable with said pivotedmember for regulating'the tilting thereof and of said semaphore.

'7. A vehicle direction signal comprising a reciprocal operating member,a pivoted semaphore arranged for bodily movement by said operatingmember, a cross head slidable with said operate ing member, a member.pivoted on" said cross semaphore and said pivoted member to normalposition at'the completion or a signalling operation.

- CHARLES O. HILLL

